The Sprout: TPP signing date is set

We start this morning with a few happy tears. A dying Ontario woman was granted her wish to see her horse one last time. Palliative-care patient Stephanie McManus received a special visit from her horse Luna this week – a surprise organized by local charity Zachary’s Paws for Healing.

A date has been set for the Trans Pacific Partnership signing ceremony. As The Manitoba Co-operator reports, parties will gather in Auckland on February 4th to sign the pending multi-billion trade deal, marking the end of negotiations.

Signing the deal is a crucial step in the ratification process. Canada is currently engaged in cross-country stakeholder consultations about the deal. The Trudeau government has not said whether it will support the 12-nation trade deal.

In Canada:

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott is in Vancouver today for a meeting with her provincial counterparts on the future of the country’s health system. While much of the meeting is expected to focus on the state of the national health care system, one group is asking school nutrition programs be included in the discussion.

Canada’s two major railways are set to report their fourth-quarter earnings this week. Canadian Pacific will release its financial update this afternoon, while Canadian National – the country’s largest railway – will reveal its quarterly earnings January 26. The Wall Street Journal has a primer on what to watch for.

Farmers in Greece have taken to pouring milk out onto the streets to protest government pension reforms. As Reuters reports, public anger is growing over the leftist-led government’s drive to cut its costly pension bill by some 1.8 billion euros this year, the equivalent of about 1 per cent of national output.

Colder temperatures in France, Germany and Britain have improved crop projections for winter wheat. As Reuters reports, the drop in temperatures has prevented crops from becoming too advanced and curbed the threat from pests and disease.

A Chinese investor has bought one of the largest cattle ranches in Australia. As The Western Australian reports, the Chinese firm is understood to have paid about $9 million for the Yakka Munga cattle station — home to 7000 cattle and covers 189,000 hectares.

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has passed its child nutrition bill. As The Detroit News explains, the bill re-authorizes the five-year program. The bill passed after bipartisan compromises on issues including sodium levels and whole grains in school lunches.

And, a newborn in Washington has contracted a rare case of scurvy after drinking only almond milk. The Washington Post has that story.